Occasional musings of things that delight a child of God

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I’m being very deliberate in attempting to finish some projects. I’ve had these bow tie blocks finished for some time. I bought four charm packs of Seasons Gatherings in Fort St. John, BC over four years ago. I love this fabric, it began my love for reproduction/traditional/civil war type fabrics.

I had no motivation to finish this one since I didn’t have anyone in mind to give it to, and I didn’t have suitable fabric for the back. When we moved into the new house we needed living room furniture. A local furniture store was having a sale and we picked up a lovely chocolate brown leather couch, chair and loveseat. This quilt compliments perfectly, recipient me!

I pieced the back with more Seasonal Gatherings fabric. I used a variegated thread for the quilting – perfect on the solid black back. The only drawback is a solid colour shows all the dog hair, so don’t look too close.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

At the beginning of November, with the church bazaar approaching fast, I embarked on designing a nine patch quilt. Something quick and simple to donate for sale. I had a jelly cake roll that would fit the project perfectly. This is the end result.
The layout reminds me of a map. I added two other fabrics from my stash to make the quilt crib size. The quilt was priced at $125.00, I donated my time, only wanting the cost of the fabric. A deal! It’s still available.

In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

What is not a basketball term , a surgery procedure, or a specialty coffee of some sort? An experiment in quilting, of course!

What to do with way too many brown and red 2 1/2″ squares? I’ve always wanted to construct an Irish Chain. Straight forward is not my style. The idea formed to combine a double and a triple Irish Chain. The result was some interesting secondary patterns.

The use of a so many colours makes the contrast a little difficult to discern. On the right is a grey scale copy that shows the pattern a little better. If you squint to look will be even more noticeable. It give me the urge to make another one. Bigger, better.

There are many of my favourite fabrics in this project. Upon completion it found a permanent home on my bed. It makes me happy. Mood adjustment, I fall asleep feeling better, and wake up comforted by loveliness.

But come on, all of you, try again!I will not find a wise man among you.My days have passed, my plans are shattered. Job 17:10-11

It has been a trying year. Too many prominent members of the congregation have died with difficult circumstances surrounding their deaths. It is emotional fuel for continued conflict and hurt within the leadership. Too much personal anxiety around mental health issues in immediate family members, inheritance details, feelings of isolation, and decreasing hours of daylight has given birth to a silent litany of “I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care” as a way to cope.

I’ve been quilting, constantly, but not finishing a single project. I’ve started three major pieces in the last month, all with deadlines. I get almost finished, pull it down off the design board and start something else. I contemplate whether my inability to finish mirrors my inability to let grief go. Daily I begin by praying I will have enough emotional resources to get through today.

A couple of weeks ago the widow of one of the recently deceased members celebrated her 65th birthday. Attempted to celebrate. It has been very difficult for her. The first anniversaries after a loved one dies typically is, the first Thanksgiving, the first birthday, the wedding anniversary, the baptism of a grandchild. Christmas is going to be bleak. I managed to finish this quilt and gift it to her. I named it “Strength for Today, Hope for tomorrow.” A line from the powerful hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness. I pray it brings her comfort and some measure of peace.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Lamentations 3:22-24 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

It only took two years. I began this quilt in March 1014. I’ve had all the material necessary to complete it, other stuff just kept getting in the way. The Quilty Guilt is back up and running and this was a rather large project for a domestic machine, the blame could be assigned there. I’m glad I am one UFO closer to reaching this year’s goal to clean all of them up. Mostly it’s quilting tops, I have only three or four partically cut and planned. I’m getting better.

Pink is not my colour. I love some of the fabrics in this, and it turned out quite nice. I have a dear friend who will love it. I’ll try to get it in the mail the beginning of next week. It should arrive close to her birthday. Maybe she will stop begging now. Hahaha.

John 11:44 – The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

We have a group in our congregation called Sunshine Friends, that is similar to a Secret Santa, but lasts all year. We send cards on anniversaries, birthdays, and give a gift at Christmas. My Sunshine Friend this year is a member of the choir and convenor of the Worship Committee. I found this fabric called ‘Church Ladies’ and did up a wall hanging for her. She loved it, but didn’t hang it drapping it instead over her piano bench. Very simple pattern and then quilted by stitching in the ditch.

I have a soft spot for fabric lines. I don’t have to make the effort to co-ordinate colours and patterns. This was one of those lines I couldn’t resist. I bought a layer cake, a charm pack, and a couple yards. I separated them into blues and purples. (Of course I want the latter for myself …) I’ve wanted to do a sampler sort of lap quilt for some time using pinwheels. I made them using the 5×5″ charms and bordered them with strips from the layer cake fabric. Throw in a few modified nine patches and a couple log cabins and voila! Very pretty. I titled it “Song of Solomon 2:12” chosen for the flowered fabric and flower quilting. It gave me a chuckle, people grabbed a bible to look up the verse and then asked, where are the turtledoves?!

This one I donated to our church’s annual bazaar. It sold. A congregation member purchased it as a baptism gift for her new grand-daughter.

Song of Solomon 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.